Jeremy Lin is coming to Toronto, in case you didn’t notice

Jeremy Lin is coming to Toronto, in case you didn't notice

As an abnormal number of cameras, audio recorders, microphones and reporters quickly engulfed him on Monday afternoon, Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey had a question.

“Is this a playoff game?”

Nope. At 9-20, it will be tough for the Raptors to sniff the post-season. However, the appearance of Jeremy Lin is creating a lot of hype in Toronto. Lin’s New York Knicks come to town on Tuesday evening, and it is dwarfing what took over the Air Canada Centre on Sunday afternoon for the lone appearance of Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.

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Nearly a dozen New York reporters are making the trip to Toronto, and even a few national writers. That just does not happen in Toronto, at least in the last few years.

However, the media hype has not completely taken hold. There are still tickets remaining for the game. However, the Raptors are anticipating a sell-out, just their second of the season along with the home opener.

“There are guys that have been doing this for season after season that haven’t been getting the same attention,” Raptors centre Jamaal Magloire said. “I’m very curious to know where it’s all coming from.”

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While Lin was being honoured with the Eastern Conference player of the week on Monday, a Raptor — or, more accurately, a future Raptor — was receiving a different kind of award.

Jonas Valanciunas, whom the Raptors took with the fifth-overall selection in the 2011 Draft, was named FIBA Europe’s Young Player of the Year. (As everyone knows, the appropriate time to give out annual awards is in the middle of the season in February.)

A panel of European basketball experts selected Valanciunas over Spain’s Nikola Mirotic, a product of the Chicago Bulls. Valanciunas led Lithuania to the FIBA Under-19 world championship, averaging 23.0 points and 13.9 rebounds in the tournament. He also played for the senior team in Eurobasket, and is currently playing for Lithuanian club Lietuva Rytas.

Valanciunas is scheduled to join the Raptors next year.

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Jerryd Bayless, who has missed the past two games with a sore left ankle, will be a game-time decision for Tuesday’s game against the Knicks. However, Casey indicated he would likely be available to play.